A Major Shift for NYC Schools and Kids with Disabilities

Moving kids with disabilities into mainstream schools in NYC was supposed to take off in 2003, so why are we talking about it now? Because now is when it is happening!

Jennifer Medina of The New York Times released the story on April 28, 2010.

This fall, more than 250 schools will be asked to accept more students with disabilities rather than send them to schools that have specific programs for special education, as has been the case for decades. By September 2011, principals at each of the system’s 1,500 schools will be expected to enroll all but the most severely disabled students; those students will continue to be served by schools tailored exclusively to them.


Special education enrollment in New York amounts to 177,000 students, or 17 percent of the system’s total, up from about 13 percent seven years ago. The city’s annual cost for special education is about $4.8 billion annually, with $1.2 billion of that going to send students to private schools.